Darkness comes early. There’s a chill in the air. Spooky season is here.
As Halloween approaches, it’s time to dim the lights and queue up a scary movie. Few people enjoy this more than Rev. Ryan Duns, S.J., associate professor and chair of theology in the Klingler College of Arts and Sciences, whose love for hair-raising tales goes back to his childhood.
“I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love scary movies,” Father Duns says. “One of my early memories is watching the movie ‘Don’t Look Down in the Basement’ with my aunt. Even from a young age, I appreciated the way horror movies explored the darkness of the human condition.”
Not impressed by just any horror film, Father Duns follows specific guidelines when rating a scary tale.
“You can’t kill children, the elderly, people with special needs or pets,” Father Duns explains. “As for what makes a good, scary movie, the film needs to synthesize terror and horror. There should be a moment of shock that catches you off-guard, even though you know it’s coming.”
But one thing that should be clear: the Jesuit in Father Duns always leads the way when analyzing chilling storylines — even the really bad ones.
“I’m so much of a Jesuit that I’m attuned to trying to find God in all things — even B-grade horror movies,” Father Duns reveals. “To be honest, I probably turn off more movies than I watch because there’s little that redeems them. If a film has to resort to cheap tricks, if its horror involves inflicting gratuitous suffering, maiming, or mauling, if it relishes in torture or silly gimmicks, I’ll simply go and read a book.”
This year we have a special treat for all the ghouls and goblins out there: a message from Father Duns, also known as “Father Fright:”
Well, fiends, I have emerged from the Jesuit wine cellar crypt with this year’s picks to watch with your boy- or girl-fiend this Halloween season. I’m a little behind on new releases: 30 days of Spiritual Exorcises Exercises will do that to you.
This year’s selection is inspired by a poem my ghastly grandmother used to recite:
Something Haunting, Something New,
Something Bloody, Something Taboo.
Granny’s little ditty leaves room for four suggestions, but I’m throwing in a fifth – consider it a little extra nightmare fuel. So, put on your favorite boo and gold clothing, pop some popcorn and settle in for five nights of fright!
Frightfully yours,
Father Ryan Duns, aka Father Fright
1. Obsession (2025) – Something Haunting
You know the saying: Be careful what you wish for. Writer and director Curry Barker struck box office gold with a film that explores the horrifying consequences of getting what we wish for, especially if what we want destroys everything around us. Bear yearns for Nikki to fall hopelessly in love with him, but when his wish comes true, Bear finds himself hopeless. He wished to make Nikki’s heart his possession but becomes, over the course of the film, a victim of her horrific obsession. Life advice: if you see a One Wish Willow at the dollar store or a psychic’s shop, think twice before you buy.
2. Resident Evil (2026) – Something New
Director Zach Cregger makes two appearances in this year’s list. The eighth installment in the video-game-based franchise follows Bryan, a medical courier whose delivery to a hospital in Raccoon City goes horribly wrong. With some great jump scares and a brisk 94-minute runtime, the film grasps and holds viewers’ attention well. It invites us to ponder what happens when the Umbrella Corporation develops a technology it cannot control and that, because of human error, puts the future of civilization in jeopardy.
3. Terrifier (film series) – Something Bloody
Let’s be honest: clowns are just creepy. Make that clown a supernatural serial killer, and you’ve got something worse than Pennywise in “It.” This series features the macabre antics of Art the Clown, a murderous clown who has a knack for dispatching his victims in ways that force even Father Fright to turn his eyes away. Although the films relish in unremitting violence, there is a strange theological dimension that one might hope gets developed in the forthcoming “Terrifier 4.” In Art, the forces of cosmic darkness threaten to destroy everything in its wake, yet this evil is resisted in Sienna, who emerges as something of a Christ-figure. Tortured by Art and seemingly taken by death, Sienna is raised up to new life to defend those she loves. You may douse it in buckets of blood and entrails, but in this series Christian hope does spring eternal.
4. Late Night with the Devil (2023) – Something Taboo
A mantra in Father Fright’s class: “Playing with a Ouija board is all fun and games… until you open a portal to hell. Then don’t come knocking on my door asking for help. You deal with it!” Directed by brothers Colin and Cameron Cairnes, this film takes us to Halloween night 1977 when struggling talk show host Jack Delroy makes a desperate bid to revive his ratings. His guests include a parapsychologist and a young girl, Lilly, whose alleged possession by an entity called Mr. Wriggles promises television viewers a night to remember. What follows exposes the dangers of unbridled ambition and the terrible cost of turning suffering into entertainment. They say you must “give the devil his due,” but one should always read the fine print: Mr. Wriggles is ready for prime time, and he won’t settle for what he’s owed when he can take whatever he wants.
5. Barbarian (2022) – Just Because
This Zach Cregger film has it all: jump scares, unexpected twists, a villain who elicits an admixture of fear and sympathy, and a pointed social message. Set in Detroit’s Brightmoor neighborhood, the film asks just how deep “blight” runs. Is it confined to derelict neighborhoods and abandoned houses, or does the rot reach into the very foundations of a society? The theologically minded viewer might well find in this story a new angle on original and structural sin. Socially conscientious viewers may find that as they watch “Barbarian,” the film watches them, asking just who, exactly, merits the title “monster.” A word to the wise: when it comes time for feeding, mother knows best.
Read more about Father Duns’ recent book “Theology of Horror: The Hidden Depths of Popular Film,” online.
